No Agua, No Vida: The Decline and Fall of the Colorado River and the American West January 25, 2011

"The future looks turbulent for the 30 million people who depend on the Colorado River for their water," says Photographer John Trotter. Trotter will talk in the Library Gallery about No "Agua, No Vida: The Decline and Fall of the Colorado River and the American West." Trotter says, “For decades, so much has been taken from the Colorado that it has rarely made its ancient rendezvous with the Sea of Cortez. And this past October, Lake Mead, behind Hoover Dam, still the largest man-made reservoir in the Western Hemisphere, recorded its lowest level since being filled 75 years ago.”

This talk kicks off the opening of the photo exhibit "No Agua, No Vida: The Slow Death of the Colorado River Delta." Because this on-going project examines human impact on our environment, Trotter decided in 2008 that he would endeavor to leave the smallest possible footprint behind when working on it. He flies only when necessary, preferring to travel by bus or train. Once he has reached his area of study, he travels on a folding bicycle that pulls a small trailer full of gear. Trotter says, “Taking an automobile out of the equation of traversing the American West only shows how absolutely dependent the area has become on them. And I've found that slowing down to a more human(e) pace has allowed me to better see the details that make up the vastness.”

Free and open to the public. Held in the Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library, Gallery in Room 100 (use Diag entrance), 913 S. University Ave., Ann Arbor, MI. Public parking is available in the structure at 650 S. Forest, just south of S. University

This talk is sponsored by the LSA Winter 2011 Water Theme Semester, the University Library, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, and Latino/a Studies.